From The Trussville Tribune Staff Reports MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley and Interim State Forester Gary Cole have lifted the statewide burn band, according to a press release from the governor’s office. The state has received enough rainfall over the last week to reduce the threat of wildfires. “I want to thank the Forestry Commission and the dozens of local fire departments that have worked so hard ...

From The Associated Press MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man convicted of murder after his toddler son died in a hot SUV has been sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. Jurors last month convicted Justin Ross Harris of malice murder and other charges in the June 2014 death of his 22-month-old son, Cooper. The malice murder conviction means they believed Harris left the young bo ...

From The Trussville Tribune Staff Reports GARDENDALE -- A carjacking in Gardendale Saturday night has put a Mississippi man behind bars. Gardendale police responded to the Waffle House on Fieldstown Road around 6 p.m., Lt. Scott Banks told al.com. A victim told officers he was held at gunpoint by another man attempting to steal his vehicle, but the suspect fled without taking anything. Dispatchers soon rece ...

From The Trussville Tribune Staff Reports SHELBY COUNTY – A single-vehicle crash at 4:09 p.m. Friday has claimed the life of a Sterrett man. The crash occurred on County Road 55, four miles north of Westover. Kristopher Roger Gardner, 37, was killed when the 2009 Chevrolet Silverado he was driving left the roadway and overturned. Gardner was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected form the vehicle, and was p ...

From The U.S. Small Business Administration ATLANTA - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations located in Alabama as a result of the drought that began on Nov. 15,2016. This disaster declaration in ...

From The Trussville Tribune Staff Reports GATLINBURG, Tenn. – Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters announced that the death toll from wildfires earlier in the week has risen to at least a dozen. Waters told CNN a 13th person died as a result of a heart attack suffered while or after feeling the fire. The blaze burned more than 700 buildings in the county, including around 300 in Gatlinburg, and injured at least ...

From the U.S. Department of Justice BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted the former president of the Communications Workers of America, Local 3901, in Oxford, Ala., for a scheme to embezzle more than $69,000 from the local chapter, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, Investigator Hollis Lindley Jr. A nine-count indictment ...

From The U.S. Department of Justice BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury Wednesday indicted a Tuscaloosa man as part of a conspiracy to traffic cocaine in Tuscaloosa County, and with using an express delivery service to illegally distribute drugs, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Steven Gerido. A four-count indictm ...

From The Trussville Tribune Staff Reports BIRMINGHAM – Chris Jones has been arrested in connection to a robbery at the Shell Gas Station on University Boulevard. Jones is allegedly responsible for several other robberies. He is being held at the Jefferson County Jail on a $250,000 bond. Tuesday around 11 p.m. a black male walked into the Shell Gas Station at 2320 University Boulevard, presenting a gun and d ...

From The Trussville Tribune Staff Reports BIRMINGHAM – A loaded gun was found at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport TSA checkpoint on Thursday. The Kimber .45 caliber was found in a carry on bag, according to TSA Regional Spokesman Mark Howell. The Birmingham Police took the bag and removed [caption id="attachment_36604" align="alignleft" width="300"] via al.com[/caption] the passenger from ...